Two World Religions: Islam and Catholic

Two World Religions: Islam and Catholic - Page Text Content

BC: By Murphy Watson | World Religions Unit Summary Assignment 2011

FC: Islam | Catholic | and. | World Religions Unit Summary Assignment

1: The whole Islamic faith is based on giving your life to God, and living your life based on His teachings. The very word Islam means submission, which shows how they surrender themselves in every way to God . The Qur'an is an extremely important part of this religion, as it is said to be the direct words given to Muhammad by Allah (God). The Islamic people believe in Jesus Christ, but see him as a great prophet only , compared to the Son of God . In the next few pages, we will explore the seven dimensions of religion pertaining to Islam , as well as compare them to the Catholic religion which is predominant in our Canadian society today. | Islam

2: Rituals | The Ritual of Prayer | The Qur'an requires all Muslims to pray five times every day at certain times , such as early morning or midafternoon.. They must also always face Mecca , the city of the prophet . | Catholics pray whenever they feel the need, therefor connecting themselves to God at any moment that seems right . In addition, Catholics regularly say the Lords Prayer in the morning and pray consistently while in church on Sundays . | This symbol shows a silhouette of someone in prayer , either Catholic or Islamic . Our Rituals help us become closer to God, no matter what religion.

3: The Ritual of Fasting | Every ninth month of every year, Muslims practice Ramadan, a type of fasting where eating, drinking, smoking or having sex are forbidden between dawn and sunset. | The Catholic ritual of fasting take the form of Lent , which dates back to when Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert . During Lent, Catholics choose one or more things , such as meat, to give up that they will miss, constantly reminding them of Jesus' sacrifices. | Although they take different forms, the fasting of both religion concentrate on the very same goal : to show us our mortality, while at the same time helping us focus on religious concerns, and not simply those of the body. | The Rituals of Community Worship | The Church and the Mosque are very similar. They are both places believers come to pray and worship together. It is traditional for Church goers to come together on Sunday, but services are offered on other days of the week such as Wednesday or Saturday . The Mosque is a place for prayer five times a day, where Mslims can be together for such spiritual times.

4: Doctrinal | The symbol of the devil clearly demonstrates Catholics belief that hose who go against Gods will will pay for it later. | Both the Islamic faith and the Catholic faith believe deeply that there is only one God . It is from this important belief that the basis of these religions stem . | Catholics believe that the devil is a a fallen angel, once a follower of God .. He is tin charge of Hell , and will punish those who do not make it into heaven. | The Muslims believe that good deeds help the health of the spirit, and bad ones hinder it . We can sometimes feel this in the physical life, but after death it will be all we feel . Hell is therefor a condition of the soul . | Punishment after Death

5: Current Catholics also believe on the whole that no one should be forced into religion, but try very hard to convince others to find Christ. The level and extremity of this however, varies from person to person. | Muslims believe that no one should ever be forced to follow the faith, they must always do it of their own free will . "There should be no compulsion in religion" as the Qur'an says. | Converting others | There should be no compulsion in religion, stated in the Qur'an

6: Experiential | Encounters with Gabriel the Angel. | Both of these major religions have stories about some of their main religious persons meeting Gabriel . | In the case of the Bible, Gabriel is the one who tells Mary that she is to be the mother of God. and not to fear , as the Lord was with her . | In the case of Islam, Gabriel was the one who dictated the Qur'an to Muhammad, on behalf of God . | Al-Fana is "the extinction of a persons ego ". When this is achieved, there is no longer any separation between a person and God . | Coming closer to God | One of the main ways Catholics may become closer to God is through prayer ; It is a direct connection between a person and their maker. The more a person prays, the closer relation they have with God .

7: This is a symbol of the Archangel Gabriel , a direct connection between God and Humans | Encounters with God | The Burning Bush | This is the story where moses saw a burning bush, and approached it. When he did, he heard Gods voice. God told him that He had come to deliver Israel from the Egyptians and that moses will help Him bring His people out of Israel. | The Story of the Qur'an | The Qur'an is said to be Allah's exact words, written down through Muhammad, the prophet . This is even more of a miracle, as he was said to have been illiterate . It is today the worlds most read and memorized book . | The Qur'an is one of the most important aspects and stories of the Islamic religion | These two stories are very similar, as they tell both of God personally talking to prophets , and helping them on their way to helping others.

8: Ethical | The clearest of the ethical aspects of catholicism are the ten commandments . They are literal, obvious rules from God on what humans should and should not do in their everyday lives. Later on, Jesus shortens these rules to two simple sentences . First, love God above everything else. Second, love your neighbor as yourself . | The five pillars of Islam are very similar to the ten commandments. They signify five very important things to guide a Muslims life , such as Ramadan or pilgrimage. to Mecca . | Obvious ethical | Regulations on Eating | Muslims shall never eat pork, or drink alcohol . Pork is considered to be a very dirty animal, and alcohol is prohibited because of this line " They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: In them is a great sin, and (some) benefits for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit” (2.219) | Although this is not always followed in recent times, Catholics should never eat meat on Fridays . This is in order to share a small part of the suffering of Jesus when he gave up His flesh for us.

9: The Bible contains more than 300 quotes on social justice and on telling us how we should help the poor. In the old testament, it was a very specific 10 percent of our income, but now. it is as John the baptist said ; "Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise ." | Helping the Poor | Muslims have a more specific teaching when it comes to the poor. As one of their five pillars, they must give 2 . 5 percent of their income to a public treasury. This money will then be spent on the poor or educational and cultural institutions. | Both of the two religions put a large importance on helping the poor, as Gods love is equal for everyone.

10: A symbol of the five pillars of Islam, described in the previous page

11: A symbol of the Ten Commandments, written by God through Moses .

12: Social | Marriage in the Community | Muslims believe that people should be married as soon as possible, and fall in love after the marriage. Marriages are generally arranged by parents, and they are first and foremost a legal contract . | In the Catholic community, love should always be the bases for marriages, as couples are expected to be together for the rest of their lives, and support each other every day of them | Although these two types of marriage are very different, they both have the same roll in a community : Connecting two people and helping them live together and support one another. | Roll of women in the | In the Catholic community, women have very important rolls, equal to men . It is not always so equal in the Church however. Even though women may have important jobs in the Church, they very rarely have sanctioned titles because of the sacrament of holy orders. However, women may be readers at Mass, extraordinary ministers, ushers, alter girls and may also teach religion. | This is a picture of Muslims gathering for Hajj, a symbol of the sense of community this tradition brings

13: . | All religions have times when the whole community comes together. Two examples of these are Christmas Mass for Catholics and Hajj for Muslims . | Although they are supposed to, not all Catholics come to Church every Sunday . But, when the Christmas spirit is in them, they tend to be a lot more likely to come to church . This results in overflowing churches, and a great social aspect of the religion | Christmas Mass | Hajj | is a pilgrimage that every Muslim has to take in their life if they are financially or physically able.. It must be done on a specific month of the year , and brings a great sense of community to the religion, despite their cultural differences. | The Islamic religion is often criticized for denying basic rights to its women. . But , Muslims state that women simply have different roles in their community then men . They say that women have more of an influence within the family, while men manage the economic aspects . The treatment of woman differs greatly on the culture, and not as much on the Qur'ans teaches | Community | Wedding rings are a symbol of the commitment between two people in the Catholic Church

14: Material | Jerusalem | The Bible and the Qur'an

15: Ka' ba- The ka' ba is the geographical point on which Muslims say they the spiritual world centers . It is said to have been built by Muhammad, and is in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca | The Qur'an | The Qur'an is one of the most important materialistic things for the Islamic faith. It is the basis of all their teachings, and is said to be the direct words of Allah himself. | Both the Bible and the Qur'an are the teachings of God compiled in very important books! | The Bible | The bible has 7 3 books, all teaching the word of God . It is on these teachings that Catholics center their faith , and try to follow . | Holy Cities | Mecca and Medina are the two holy cities of Islam.. Mecca is said to be the city of the prophet, and Medina is the home city of Islam .. Islams must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life... | Jerusalem is a place where many important things for the Catholic religion happened., such as being the place Jesus was brought as a child and where the last supper took place . For these reasons and many others, Catholics come to this city in order to feel closer to Christ and what he endured . | The cross is of great significance to the Catholic faith, as it is on what Jesus died to rid the world of their sins . It is mainly on this significant event that the Catholic religion centers, other than Jesus retuning after three days . The cross is a material representation of this | Spiritual Centers of the Faiths

16: Mythic | First, there is Muhammad's ascension, where he saw the seven Heavens, and according to some accounts, Hell . He then talked to Allah face to face. | Ascensions to Heaven | Second, there is Jesus' ascension. After being resurrected, Jesus ascended into heaven, proving once and for all that he was the son of God . | Jesus flying into the sky in a beam of light is a good symbol of his ascension into heaven | - Allah revealed his name to Muhammad | - Jesus was born in human form | Both of these events brought great light to the world, let people be even closer to God and brought some meaning to life.

17: Creation Stories | The Bible tells of how, before God created anything, there was only darkness . He then proceeded to make everything we now see in nature in the next six days, and rested on the seventh . | The Story told in the Qur'an is the same , gives the same values and story simply using slightly different words. | This photo symbolizes God bringing light to the world, told in both creation stories.

18: Why It Happens . | Islamic terrorist activities occur because of a few extremist within the religion . They believe that western culture is wrong, and that there is no way to fix this other than killing the offenders. In some cultures, doing this is seen as heroic, and is sometimes ( however rarely ) encouraged . | Islamic terrorist activities

19: Solutions | There are many ways we could combat this way of thinking, but I think the most effective would be through education and tolerance. If the people committing these acts saw westerners as people , with families and dreams , I hope they would be more accepting of other cultures that are not their own .